Wall Street Opens High

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks opened higher on Wednesday in the wake of additional evidence that inflation is being kept at bay.

In the first hour of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 9.88 at 11,076.88.

Broader stock indicators were higher.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 7.39 at 1,491.82, and the Nasdaq composite index was up 53.13 at 3,904.79.

Investors bought stocks following the release of a widely used inflation barometer that showed that consumer prices had risen a tame 0.2 percent last month, as the cost of gasoline and natural gas declined after soaring in June.

Moreover, the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index core rate, which excludes the volatile food and energy sectors, also rose just 0.2 percent, for a fourth consecutive month, suggesting that most other prices remain under control.

The seasonally adjusted increases in both the overall Consumer Price Index, the most closely watched inflation gauge, and its core rate matched many analysts' expectations.

If Federal Reserve Board policy-makers, who have raised interest rates six times in the past 14 months in an effort to stave off inflation, feel their strategy is working, interest rates will likely be left unchanged at the Fed's next meeting Aug. 22.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4-to-3 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 125.5 million shares, up from Tuesday's early pace.

The Russell 2000 index was up 2.93 at 512.86.

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